It was a busy day of poker at Harveys Lake Tahoe Casino as the Main Event of the current WSOP Circuit stop kicked off Friday morning with the first of two starting flights. As many as 176 entries registered into the tournament through Flight 1, but after long 17 levels of play, there were only 22 hopefuls left to advance into Sunday’s Day 2.

It was Scott Steward to end Day 1A as the chip leader. The player built a solid stack of 482,000 throughout the day from a starting stack of just 30,000. Steward, a Lakewood, California poker pro, is vying for his sixth gold ring from the series.

The player captured his last ring in August 2017, when he topped the field of the $2,200 High Roller at Harrah’s Cherokee, good for a cash prize of $63,399. It is also important to note that Steward has been a WSOP Circuit regular and has cashed in 41 series events over the years, accumulating earnings of more than $510,104. He also has also recorded WSOP and WSOP Europe in-the-money finishes under his name. His overall WSOP earnings currently stand at $1,078,698, but given his regular participation in tournaments, he is only poised to grow his bankroll even more.

Valentin Vornicu among Top Stacks

Trailing close behind Steward is Robert Georato, a three-time gold ring winner, with 454,000. Record-breaking gold ring winner Valentin Vornicu rounds out the top three chip stacks with 453,000 after Day 1A. Vornicu is looking to win his 13th gold ring from the series.

Other notables who made it through the first flight include Ian Steinman, Shane Paheco, and Bryan Piccioli among others. There were also quite popular poker pros who, unfortunately, could not survive all 17 levels. Those include JC Tran, Dustin Fox, Adam Owen, and Vincent Moscati, among others. Despite their Day 1A failure, they will be able to enter the tournament once again today when the second starting flight is set to be played.

Defending champ Max Young was nowhere to be seen on Day 1A of the $1,700 Main Event. However, the player had a good excuse for his absence as he was fighting for his fourth gold ring in the $400 No-Limit Hold’em (1-Day) event. The player outlasted 143 entries to capture the coveted piece.

This time last year, Young took down the Main Event at Harveys Lake Tahoe, yet again for a gold ring and $147,699 in prize money. The player was the last man standing from a field of 458 contenders and collected the lion’s share of the $687,000 prize pool. Young is expected to enter the tournament through Flight 2 today for a chance to defend his title.

The prize pool of this year’s edition of the Main Event is yet to be determined as registration is still open and will remain open until Level 12 of Day 1B. The tournament’s second flight is set to kick off today at 11 am local time.

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